Nobel laureate Machado comes out of hiding after 11 months
11 Dec 2025

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has resurfaced in Norway after nearly a year of hiding.

She made her first public appearance at Oslo's Grand Hotel, where she was greeted by supporters chanting "Courageous!" and "Freedom!"

She also came down on to the street to embrace supporters.

The 58-year-old politician had been forced into hiding by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has been accused of rigging the July 2024 presidential election.

Machado's daughter accepts Nobel Prize on her behalf
Award acceptance

Hours earlier, Machado's daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf. She was unable to attend the ceremony due to bad weather. Machado reportedly left Venezuela by boat on Tuesday and traveled to Curacao, from where she took a private plane to Norway.

The chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, called for Maduro's resignation during the ceremony and praised Machado's efforts for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in Venezuela.

Maduro's regime criticizes Nobel ceremony, Machado's supporters rally
Criticism and support

Maduro's regime has slammed the Nobel ceremony, with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez calling it "a total failure." She claimed Machado was scared to attend.

Meanwhile, Maduro, at a rally in Caracas, urged the Trump administration to stop its "illegal and brutal interventionism" in Venezuela.

He asked citizens to be ready "to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary."

Machado's potential leadership role in post-Maduro Venezuela
Future prospects

Should Trump manage to oust Maduro, Machado is seen as a strong candidate to lead Venezuela.

However, Maduro has withstood previous attempts by the Trump administration to remove him through sanctions and threats.

Observers remain skeptical about whether Maduro will survive this latest intervention.

Machado was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election, despite winning the opposition's primary by a landslide. She went into hiding in August 2024, after authorities increased arrests of opposition individuals following the disputed election.